NexusMods, one of the largest mod hosting platforms for video games and often criticized for its ideological bias has reversed its recent decision involving selective censorship after facing widespread backlash and a wave of subscription cancellations.
In a move that shocked no one, the platform banned a mod for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered that simply restored the original 2006 character sex labels “Male” and “Female” in place of its artificial inclusion of modern “Body Type 1” and “Body Type 2” progressive terminology.
This wasn’t an isolated incident, it’s part of a long-standing pattern from NexusMods, which has routinely engaged in heavy-handed censorship under the guise of promoting “diversity” and “inclusivity.” Values that have been weaponized in an attempt to reshape society via social reprogramming and forced upon gaming culture.
The platform has repeatedly targeted mods that push back against modern ideological changes in both classic and current titles, whether it involves the removal of inclusivity warnings slapped upon re-releases of old games, developers retroactively censoring a characters design years after release and especially mods that defy enforced identity politics in modern releases.
Mods that alter characters’ appearances to make them Black such as the “Tifandra” mod for Final Fantasy VII Remake, or those that reimagine Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2 as Black or add BLM flags to games are freely allowed on NexusMods without issue. However, mods that reverse these changes or challenge historical revisionism, like turning Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Musa of Mali into a White character, are swiftly banned.
Meanwhile, mods that turn KCD2’s White protagonist Henry into a Black man are permitted.
A Baldur’s Gate 3 mod that changed Wyll’s race to White was swiftly banned under NexusMods’ inclusivity guidelines. Likewise, a mod that altered a lesbian romance into a heterosexual pairing by making one of the female characters male was also removed, despite the game featuring multiple same-sex relationship options. NexusMods defended the decision by claiming it undermined diversity, highlighting a clear bias: progressive-leaning and racially inclusive mods are welcomed, while those that aim to restore traditional content or reflect original intent are censored.
This ongoing double standard reached a boiling point with the abrupt release The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered which had replaced its classic “male” and “female” descriptors during the character creation with “Body Type 1” (female default) and “Body Type 2” (male), aligning with modern day gender ideology while stripping the game of its original context.
A mod titled Body Type Selector by user 7H3LaughingMan restored the original “male” and “female” gender labels within the day, giving players the option to experience the game as it was intended back in 2006.
NexusMods, however, banned the mod, not due to its content, but allegedly because of the uploader’s “behavior.” Which is more or less a flimsy excuse to justify ideological censorship, especially since the mod was labeled as being made to “cause controversy.”
To further stoke the controversy, NexusMods also banned a Chinese translation fix for Oblivion Remastered simply because it used the original “male” and “female” terminology instead of the sanitized “body type” labels.
Given how much of NexusMods’ traffic and revenue comes from China, this sparked a wave of backlash, including mass cancellations of premium memberships. Facing pressure from one of its largest international user bases, NexusMods has surprisingly caved, restoring the body type removal mod and the Chinese translation fix, albeit with a passive-aggressive “Community Notice” attached to the former.
Make no mistake—this wasn’t a principled stand. It was a financial decision. NexusMods isn’t suddenly a champion of creative freedom; they just didn’t want to bleed more money over yet another PR disaster tied to their ideological bias.
Both the Body Type Selector and the Chinese translation were reinstated, but the attached “Community Notice” makes their position clear. It reads:
“This mod has been, and likely will continue to be, a source of controversy within the community. After a thorough review, we’ve determined that the content of the mod does not violate our community guidelines.
However, due to the nature of the topic, which often attracts intense and sometimes hostile discussion, the comments section WILL remain locked to prevent further escalation… We recognize that mods like this can bring sensitive discussions around gender and identity to the forefront… What we will not tolerate is trolling, harassment, discrimination, or any other form of toxicity that these discussions may provoke.”
The notice reads like a transparent attempt to save face, cautioning users not to install the mod for the “wrong” reasons, implying that preferring traditional sex labels over modern non-binary terminology is morally unacceptable. This stands in sharp contrast to NexusMods’ prior hardline stance on inclusivity, where even the removal of Pride flags or pronoun options led to outright bans.
While the reversal marks a win for the community, it’s a hollow one; NexusMods has made it clear this was not a shift in values, but a reluctant retreat driven by social and financial backlash.
The Oblivion Remastered controversy highlights a growing trend in the gaming industry, where both developers and platforms like NexusMods push modern inclusivity standards onto classic titles, erasing tradition to appease a fraction of the population regardless of historical accuracy and player freedom.
While ideological activists downplay the abrupt change from male and female to body types as “insignificant,” the backlash against mods that revert this change proves just how meaningful it actually is for them to get their way unopposed.
They claim it’s not a big deal, but when we attempt to remove their ideological influence, it quickly becomes a massive issue. This double standard exposes the real agenda at play: diversity and inclusivity are enforced, but only if they fit their ideological framework.
NexusMods’ actions resemble the censorship tactics of communist regimes, where history is rewritten to fit a predetermined narrative, in this case, eliminating binary sex labels to promote a gender-neutral ideology, one that redefines womanhood as merely a self-declared identity.
This opens the door for deranged biological men to medically mutilate themselves and claim access to traditionally female spaces, from sports competitions to toiletries, under the guise of inclusivity.
By banning mods that restore original content, such as the revised localization of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door‘s HD Remake, which arbitrarily retconned the character of Vivian as transgender among many other modifications, NexusMods and the like can undermine player choice and control how games are experienced, favoring propaganda over authenticity.
The platform’s hypocrisy is further emphasized by its selective moderation: mods that alter characters’ identities to align with modern political agendas are celebrated, but mods that reverse these changes or restore a game’s original vision are met with bans and moralistic warnings.
While the reinstatement of the Oblivion mods marks a small victory for the modding community, NexusMods’ track record shows this leniency will not endure for the future. Given the platform’s history of banning mods that challenge progressive changes, whether it’s removing inclusivity disclaimers, restoring censored content, or revising same-sex romances future releases with modern-day identity politics will face similar censorship.
For players tired of NexusMods’ ideological overreach, platforms like DEG Mods have risen to the occasion in providing a refreshing alternative, one that champions creative freedom without the oppressive moderation policies seen on NexusMods, GameBanana, and similar sites.
While NexusMods may have reversed their most recent ban, their underlying ideology hasn’t changed. The next time a beloved classic gets hit with a wave of modern political injection and someone steps up to restore it, expect another fight as the fight against ideological control in gaming persists.
These platforms alongside activist developers continue to rewrite game history, defacing franchises by forcing asinine ideological narratives into titles that were never meant to carry them, all to appease a vocal minority whose demands defy not just basic biology but logic, reason, and connection to reality.
